Walt Whitman

Because I'm a history classic lit geek I squealed with delight when I turned on "The American Experience" on PBS the other night and the episode was all about Walt Whitman and the many volumes of "the Leaves of Grass".

Walt, was a Long Islander much like myself and growing up on the Long Island you really don't learn that much about Walt and his poetry. All the Babylon Schools told us about Walt was he was born on Long Island, lived in Brooklyn and wrote poems and he may or may not have passed through Babylon Village, that's the town on LI were I grew up. And there is a mall named for him and a Walt Whitman High School in Huntington and Huntington Station all near were he was born on Long Island.

I first read the first copy of "The Leaves of Grass" when I was about 12 years old after I saw the film "Dead Poets Society" and also my curiosity about the name sake of the Walt Whitman mall got the best of me too. I just remember being completely enamored of the way he wrote about New York. Because in a lot of ways that was the same way that I saw New York some 130 years later.

And this episode of "American Experience" pointed that out, that the way Walt saw New York was the same way that many people today in 2008 still look at New York. The episode also pointed out how erotic some of the poems in the later editions of "The Leaves of Grass" were a lot of the poems dealt with having romances and sex with both men and women. The later editions were pretty controversial stuff at the time because of not only the sexual references but also because many of the poems were anti-slavery and anti-war and Whitman also spoke about Eastern religions and Eastern philosophy. No wonder why they didn't want to teach us his poetry in school!
He was really someone who was ahead of his time and his work was really criticized because of that. The Walt Whitman "American Experience" was an interesting look at a real New York character, New York at Walt Whitman's time and poems that are still really relevant today in 2008.

The episode really made me want to re-read the first edition of the "Leaves of Grass" and all the other editions of "The Leaves of Grass".

I found this website that has snippets and a background on the poems of "Leaves of Grass" and Walt Whitman, check it out for yourselves! And the Walt Whitman episode of "The American Experience" is worth sitting down to watch when it comes on PBS.

http://www.leavesofgrass.org/

Some various things...

To follow up on my controversial post from the other day; a male music friend of mine basically summed it all up in three words on why some men in particular musicians in their 30's date young girls in their early 20's. THE MALE EGO!!

Moving right along!

My friend Denise's company GNYC Music is looking for artists and bands to play some GNYC promoted nights at Arlene's Grocery in NYC in May and June. If your interested in playing at Arlene's you can email Denise at GNYCTV@aol.com.

GNYC Music also produces the MEANY Fest which goes on in early October at venues across NYC, if you or your band is interested in competing in MEANY please go to the MEANY Fest website (linked below) and enter!

And for all you New York area bands there will be a MEANY Fest stage at the Seaside NJ Music festival on May 16th. What you need to do if you are interested is submit via email (gnyctv@aol.com) or fax (212)246-0705 by end of the day tomorrow friday 4/18. You can get a submission form from the Seaside music festival website (linked below), chosen bands and artists will be contacted early next week. This is a free show and a full backline will be provided.

http://meanyfest.com/

http://seasidemusicfest.com/

Last evening, I started the first of many Weds night Mediterranean cooking lessons with my friend Diane, we learned how to cook Moroccan last night. It's awesome because it's the type of cooking lessons where you make the food then you sit and eat it. And I have to say Diane and I did a really good job we made a Moroccan meatballs in some spicy sauce, they were the best meatballs ever made! The woman who is teaching us is this really amazing and beautiful French woman who was born in Morocco and spent most of her childhood there, the recipes that we learned last night were passed down for generations in her family.

Next week is Spanish cuisine. Piaya... YUMM! Anyhow I have decided to use my new found cooking prowess in my video interviews, hopefully I will have one coming up with Mr. Johnny Lloyd Rollins when he comes back NYC way. It will be like a combination of a much hipper version "Cooking with the Stars" and Rachel Ray! One day I will broadcast my rock and roll dinner party were it will be like a cross between the Algonquin round table and that time when Mariah Carey broadcast a dinner party from her triplex Tribecca apartment on MTV and she changed outfits about five times...oh yeah I watched Mimi=guilty pleasure for me! I'll change outfits five times just like Mimi and crack witty lines just like Dorothy Parker at my dinner party!

Oh and the very last thing for today...my friend Bob's band BuzzUniverse is up for a "Jammy" in the Best New Grove category. So go to the Jammy's website and vote for BuzzUniverse!! All the links are below.

http://www.jammys.com/

http://buzzuniverse.com/

Girls in their 20's vs. Women in their 30's

This is a real Carrie Bradshaw type of post today. I seem to remember a "Sex In the City" episode based on this very question I'm about to ask. I'm sorta staying on the topic of music with this question.


The question I have to all you males in your 30's and older in the music industry and otherwise is, why girls in their early twenties?? Why not girls in their thirties?? Is it a control issue...a girl of 21 can be more easily controlled and will do what you want more so then a woman of 31?? And for all you musicians, rock supposedly keeps you young and is it cause you wanna stay young by dating a girl of 22?? Is it a matter of sexual experience, are you more turned on by a girl of 23 who is less sexually experienced then a woman of 33? Or does it just depend on the guy??

I'm curious to get your answers on this question!

Speaking of guys....this is the funniest song and video it's by Katy Perry and it's called "Your So Gay", the song and video could be directed at a lot of the guys I come across!